Airdrie Market Absorbs Unoccupied Inventory

In early 2012, nearly half of the active listings on MLS® in Airdrie were unoccupied. Of the 301 homes for sale at the time, 139 of them were either vacant or new build.

Today, there are 126 total homes for sale of which 47 are unoccupied. That’s a -58% reduction in listings and a -66% decline in unoccupied homes. The condo segment experienced a significant drop, from 22 empty units to just 2 now.

Putting it in perspective, there are now fewer total homes for sale in Airdrie than there were just unoccupied listings two years ago.

Why is this noteworthy? A vacant home means that the homeowner is paying carrying costs out of pocket since there isn’t a tenant in place to offset monthly expenditures such as mortgage payments, utilities, property taxes and insurance. There’s generally more wiggle room for negotiation with these sellers, especially when a quick possession is offered.

Protip: the title will yield clues such as if there’s a mortgage and the amount at the time it was registered.

However in an active market like Airdrie is experiencing right now, buyer leverage with vacant properties is diminished. Let’s back that up with some figures.

In 2011, homes that were seller or tenant occupied had a SP/OLP ratio of 97.3% whereas the new/vacant properties had a ratio of 95.3% – a spread of two percent. On an average priced home of $350,000 this translates into $7,000.

As the market improved and the DOM decreased, the ratio spread narrowed. In 2012, occupied homes were selling at 97.6% of the original asking price while unoccupied properties were at 96.3%.

Last year, the market performed the best it had in years and the SP/OLP ratio disparity between occupied and unoccupied homes was negligible, selling at 97.3% and 97.5% respectively.

It should go without saying (but I’ll say it anyways) that these statistics are general in nature and that offers should always be property specific since there are many variables to consider.